Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Grant will aid use of AI in electronic monitoring for Alaska halibut harvesters

August 4, 2025 — Longline fishermen in Southeast Alaska are embarking on a new program to advance use of artificial intelligence technology in their fishery monitoring program, thanks to a $485,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

The plan announced by the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) in Sitka on July 28 calls for partnering with the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) and Canada’s Archipelago Marine Research Ltd. to enhance Archipelago’s FishVue AI tool and train it for the Alaska sablefish and halibut fixed gear fisheries.

The project will focus on increasing efficiency and lowering the fleet’s overall observer cost. “Many small boat fishermen prefer EM systems over human observers, so increasing the usefulness and effectiveness of EM should have direct benefits to our members and Alaska’s fixed gear fleet in general,” said Lauren Howard, policy coordinator for ALFA.

Archipelago, based in Victoria, British Columbia, is an industry leader in fisheries electronic monitoring. The firm works with the fishing industry, non-government organizations (NGOs) and regulators to implement sustainable practices through at-sea and dockside observer programs, electronic monitoring technology, and marine environmental services.

ALFA, Archipelago and PSMFC also have EM expertise in the Gulf of Alaska where the project will be based.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Council to talk deep-sea coral, at-sea monitors

January 23, 2018 — The New England Fishery Management Council kicks off its 2018 calendar with meetings in New Hampshire on the final two days of January that will include discussions on its deep-sea coral amendment and industry-funded at-sea monitoring.

The latter, however, will come with a twist.

The discussion on mandated industry-funded monitoring, set as the second agenda item for the first day of meetings on Jan. 30, is expected to include an update on electronic monitoring projects aboard midwater trawl vessels in the region’s herring and mackerel fisheries.

On the same day in the hotel, NOAA Fisheries — with the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office and the Northeast Fisheries Science Center — will hold a free monitoring service provider vendor show to give fishermen and stakeholders the opportunity to meet and question vendors providing monitoring services.

“This is a great opportunity for herring and groundfish fishermen in particular to interact one-on-one with all of these providers,” said Janice Plante, a council spokeswoman.

Herring fishermen, she said, will be subject to new monitoring requirements under the industry-funded monitoring omnibus amendment and groundfishermen may see new monitoring requirements in the groundfish monitoring amendment currently before the council.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times